Being in more of a negative camp I don't really have much to say regarding the finale that hadn't been said before. Season 2 was rather disappointing and continued to exemplify season 1's biggest flaws. The show is it's greatest enemy - the concept is highly interesting and they can pull off some great episodes using it (Riddle of the Sphinx, Kiksuya), but the core plot is full of cardboard cut-out characters that function more as a plot device rather than actual characters and their arcs are just uninteresting. The fact that the most well received episodes this season were sidestories says a lot.
My biggest issue would be what showrunners teased beforehand - that there would be twists, but since reddit figured out every season 1 twist in advance they will be much more abrupt so as to still be surprising. Season 1 was a neat puzzlebox, one that's emotionally cold as it is concerned more with the puzzles rather than characters, but one in which all the pieces neatly fit together by the end. Season 2 was still a puzzlebox, but rather than building up to some greater narrative and revelations the mysteries are built on obscuring the truth, making the narrative intentionally confusing and lying to the viewer. That's disappointing and a huge part why this season feels that much more aimless.
Generally, the show is classic Nolan, be it Christopher or Jonathan. Premise of the show is interesting, the plot presented is somewhat complicated, but it feels much more intricate due to narrative framing choices. Westworld season 2 however feels like the point where that was taken too far. Intertwining character viewpoints and timelines jumping haphazardly forwards and backwards in time while obscuring key information and character motivations were intentionally overtly complicated without enhancing the narrative and that made it that much less enjoyable to the viewer.
Ultimately, I will still watch season 3, probably. It's entertaining at times, much like a Kojima game is entertaining at it's most when the plot goes loco and you can do nothing more than revel in the insanity. Only in Westworld instead of plot contrivances you've got narrative contrivances. They're on a similar level when it comes to surface thematic depth. I liked the finale in that how confusing it was was charming, but as resolution to half-baked season 2 arcs it's unsatisfying and I fully expect season 3 to go further that way, so I'm welcome to more Westworld, for now. I just wish season 3 finally has enough plot to span the entire season, because both in season 1 and season 2 same plotlines could have been told in half the episodes without losing much fidelity. A man can dream.
That said, it's still a pretty show and the music is great. I hope they can keep up at least to some level the production values if they get budget cuts in face of falling ratings.
